Siren

Why?

As she stood, bound and powerless on the deck of The Black Sparrow, the sun was dipping low in the horizon, casting a golden hue over the ocean. The crew, still in disbelief at the sight of her, kept their distance, unsure of how to handle the presence of the siren they had feared for so long. But he-Jordan-was different. He stood before her, his eyes wide with recognition and remorse.
"Lena..." he whispered, his voice trembling. He took a cautious step toward her, but she recoiled, her tail shimmering in the dying light of the sun. "I thought you were dead. I never wanted this. I didn't know-"
"You didn't want?" Lena cut him off sharply, her voice like a blade. "You stood there, Jordan. You said nothing. You let them throw me into the sea."
He winced at her words, the memory of that night playing over and over in his mind. The look on her face as she was dragged away had haunted him for years, and now she was here, alive, but changed. "I was scared, Lena. I was young and-"
"And weak," she spat, her eyes narrowing. "I loved you. I trusted you, and you let them condemn me."
The warmth that had once filled her chest was gone, replaced by the cold fury that had sustained her all these years. She had waited, hoping, somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, that one day he would find her, would apologize. But now that he was here, it felt hollow. Too little, too late.
"Please," he said, taking another step closer, his voice breaking. "I know I failed you. I know I can never undo what I did. But I never stopped thinking about you. Not for a single day."
She turned her head, refusing to look at him. "I want nothing from you, Jordan. I want to be free. Let me go."
His brow furrowed as he stared at her, unable to grasp her rejection. "I can't let you go, Lena. Not again. Not after everything."
"You don't have a choice," she hissed, tugging at the ropes that bound her wrists. "This is not your decision to make. I need to leave."
He stepped closer again, now only a few feet from her. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, frustration and desperation mingling in his voice. "Why, Lena? Why do you need to leave? After all these years, why now? Why can't you stay with me?"
She laughed, a cold, bitter sound. "Stay with you? And what would that look like? Do you think I can just forget what you did? What your crew did to me? You're a fool, Jordan."
"I've changed!" he blurted, his voice rising. "I'm not the same man I was back then. You know that. I'm not like them!"
Her eyes finally met his, a storm brewing in the depths of her oceanic gaze. "You are exactly like them. You watched me drown, Jordan. And now you want to keep me prisoner again."
"I want you to stay," he pleaded, his voice softening. "Not as a prisoner. I just... I need you here. I've always needed you."
Lena's heart twisted painfully in her chest, the remnants of the warmth they once shared flickering weakly before being snuffed out by the crushing weight of betrayal. "You need me? I don't belong to you, Jordan. Not anymore."
His hands reached for her, but she flinched away, the look in her eyes warning him not to touch her. "Then what do I need to do? Tell me, Lena. I'll do anything."
"Let me go," she demanded again, her voice cold and final.
"Why?" His voice cracked with the desperation of a man who had lost everything and now stood at the precipice of losing the only thing that mattered. "Why do you need to leave so badly?"
Her gaze softened for just a moment, but then she hardened herself again. "Because I have a son," she finally said, her voice steady and unyielding. "Our son. And I need to protect him."
Jordan froze, the words hanging in the air between them like a noose tightening around his neck. He stared at her, his mind reeling. "A son?"
Lena nodded, her expression unreadable. "Yes. Born of the sea. He doesn't need your world, Jordan. He doesn't need the lies, the betrayal, or the bloodshed. I have to keep him safe. From all of this."
Jordan took a step back, the weight of her words crashing down on him. "Lena... I didn't know. I-"
"You didn't care," she corrected him. "And now it's too late. You let me go once, and you'll do it again. I have to leave, Jordan. My son is all that matters now."
The air between them grew heavy with unspoken truths and shattered promises. Jordan's heart raced, his mind spinning as he tried to find a way to fix what could never be mended. He wanted to reach out, to pull her close, to hold her like he once had. But he knew deep down that the woman standing before him now was no longer the girl he had loved.
She was something more. Something stronger. And she didn't need him anymore.
With one last look into his eyes, Lena turned away, her mind already on her son, her future. The ocean called to her, and without another word, she dove over the edge of the ship, disappearing beneath the waves.
Jordan stood frozen at the ship's rail, watching the spot where she had vanished, the realization finally sinking in. He had lost her-truly and completely this time.
And there was no going back.